Polishing around lug nuts

[OrangeA]

Hey folks - a quick question regarding leather care. With past vehicles, I have never been able to avoid the shiny look it aquires after months of wear - black especially. The steering wheel and drivers seat is always a sure way of telling how many miles are on a car. I am hoping there is a way to maintain that new, dull look . Perhaps the only way is to cover them with the fabric covers available on the market ? My latest car has beige leather which I would guess will show its wear sooner than black. Any help is appreciated.

[OrangeA]

I haven`t used anything yet - I`ve had the car for one month. But I used Lexol cleaner and conditioner on my TT`s black leather about twice a year as recommended by Lexol. After a day or two, a shine would reappear. It`s dicouraging that only the passenger seat looks the way I would like. Wondering what else I can try on the new Saab to prevent this from happening or is it just unavoidable due to wear.

[Chris330Ci]

bump.



i`ve been wondering the same thing too.

my E46 with black leatherette and 85k has been diagnosed with shiny steering wheel syndrome.



I`ve been longing for that luster appearance that my seats and dash still have.



I`ve used Megs APC, Rubbing Alcohol (sparingly), and Lexol cleaner with APC giving the best results. Neither lasts for longer than a couple of weeks though.



My thought now was to take a toothbrush or something bristly to scrub the hand oils out of the steering wheel`s texture. Anyone think this plan will work?



Ideas?

[JBs]

DP total interior cleaner followed by their protectant



leatherique on the seats periodically with DP protectant between treatments.

[David Fermani]

The shine that keeps coming back is the dirt and/or oil accumulation returning on the seats. If you apply the wrong "sealer" you`ll actually be creating this dirty gloss to return faster. Some conditioners (even one`s that leave the surface with a natural finish) will actually create dirt/oil to stick to the surface, thus creating more wear and tear on your seats.

[Chris330Ci]

This is mainly the steering wheel in my case.

The seats seem ok but i figure they will start shining after lots of heavy use when the seats actually lose that texture from stretching.





Another weird thing that my E46 has is this strange overspray. When I bought the car, someone had applied this stuff all over the steering wheel and smoother parts of the car that were colored black (maybe to add more texture?)

Can some identify this stuff. I bought the car about 2 years ago and it`s always been a lingering question of mine.



http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g58/Chris323i/P8030028.jpg













here you can see where the person masked off the steering wheel controls with tape to prevent the stuff from getting on the buttons.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g58/Chris323i/P8030025.jpg





http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g58/Chris323i/P8030031.jpg

[Chris330Ci]

It`s a very hard, plastic feeling texture.



I was thinking it may be something like this

http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/Trains/OGRThreads/UnionStation2005-11-24/Page2/2_files/SprayPaint.jpeg

[judyb]

The thing about leather care is that it should be done little and often from when the leather is new if you want to retain its matt look and help it to last longer.



Leather care is about keeping leather clean and protecting the finish that they have put on the leather. In todays modern cars no products you use actually come into contact with the leather itself so it is the finish that is of concern.



The build up of shine is caused by dirt and body oils together with friction from bodies sliding in and out of the car seats (the bolster area is a high contact area). This can also be exacerbated by the use of incorrect care products that when left on the surface attract more dirt and oils.



If leather is not cleaned and protected and dirt is allowed to build up this will then start to deteriorate the finish. Micro cracking will appear in the finish (seen through a pocket micrsocope 30 x) which cannot be seen by the naked eye. This appears to the naked eye to be dirt in the grain pattern and no amount of cleaning will remove it. Cleaning products are often judged not to be working because of this problem. This is the time that a small amount of restoration will bring the leather back to looking like new and once again if looked after correctly will help the leather to last. Leaving the leather longer than this stage will only extend the cracking (the addition of `conditioners` at this stage will only make the matter worse) and make the restoration process more difficult to achieve good long lasting results.



As your leather is already shiny it is important to check what is going on with the finish before deciding the best way forward. If the leather finish is intact and needs cleaning:

Use a good foam water based detergent cleaner to remove dirt and body oils from the surface (the surface is the only thing that can be cleaned - you cannot extract dirt from the leather itslef). You can use a nylon kitchen brush to aid this process if necessary. Do not use magic sponges as these will remove the finish and don`t use microfibre cloths as these are designed to pick up lose particels and if the finish is damaged these can make it worse.

If you are happy with the cleaning that has been done then add a water based fluorochemical protector which will help to inhibit dirt and oils from being absorbed into the finish. Conditioning is not necessary as this is done by the moisture from the water that is in the products and this is the only conditioning that is required.



If you find that the finish has microcracking then this can be lightly recoloured and refinished at this stage which will be very successful and completely restore the leather to its new appearance.

[bmw5541]

Does anyone have any suggestions for polishing around the lug nuts? I have seen some use Q-tips, but was interested in seeing what others do. Also, what products do you use to clean and polish them?

[Old Pirate]

I recommend removing your rims and clean and polish them with your lug nuts. After that you can maintain them using the Carrera Lug Nut Brush.

[imported_Luster]

:iagree::iagree::iagree: Taking the wheels off is the best method. It doesn`t take that long once you get into the zone!:D